Dozens of painted and built-out hats have been hanging in Beacon Bath and Bubble since October's Second Saturday, and are now moving across the street to the Howland Cultural Center to be put on display for the Beacon Historical Society's big fundraising event and silent auction, on November 5 from 1 to 5 pm! The theme of the hat decoration was "Beacon's Past or Beacon's Present."

My inspiration was decades-old newspapers, and showcasing what they looked like and covered over the years. The tricky part was getting into the Beacon Historical Society's headquarters and archives inside of the Howland Cultural Center - during their very limited open hours!

Finally, after taking the walking tour of the east end two weekends ago (just one of several fundraisers they have been having this month), I was able to slip in and be escorted to the newspaper archives. Containing decades of editions, they reside in the bound books upstairs in the narrow library of the The Howland. In a very special box, there I found "The First Newspaper Printed in the City of Beacon" in 1913, the year of the Beacon Evening Journal's merged creation.

Several clippings stood out, but my biggest takeaways from looking through various editions were how Beacon has always had high aspirations and been very proud of its community. And just look at that school achievement! The news stories were not so different from what they are today, from violent crime to announcements for Girl Scout meetings and baby support circles.

A comic strip runs along the bottom: Ella Cinders. She seems to be a director in the 1930s, dealing with a condescending boss and other questionable male professionals. Get it... CinderElla?

This project could not have been possible without Byrdie's on-demand color printing over at Accuprint near Homespun. Byrdie has been known to save many of us who need a flyer or menu fast, and the machines keep on whirring in her little print shop as her mother does taxes and bookkeeping in the back, and her father provides general oversight and support throughout the building.

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